So Grateful

We have a lot to be thankful for in our house this week. Joel was in a serious car accident last Thursday. Joel's car was hit in the driver's door when another car ran a red light. The pictures below show how bad it was.




As you can see, God protected Joel. He is in a lot of pain, but nothing is broken. He had three athletes with him and they were even able to compete shortly after the accident. It will be at least 4 weeks before Joel is back to normal, but I am so grateful that he is alive and not more seriously injured. It is an emotional process to think about what might have been. I wept to see Joel hug his kids when he got home on Saturday night and it makes me realize even more how much I cherish having a partner in love and life. So, things will be slower here and look differently for the beginning of the summer than we planned, but I am so grateful for God's hand of protection over Joel and those students.

Tulip Festival

Tulip Festival was so much fun! The boys were delighted with everything.

We did ride night on Wednesday night. They are getting older and really loved the kids rides. Even Ezra did everything his brothers did. Josiah was sweet and took Ezra's hand and led him through a maze ride.

We scrubbed streets. The boys entertained the crowds. We took up the rear guard and I'm pretty sure Josiah found all the spots on the road that the mobs of people in front of us missed! Grandpa Clark, Aunt Crystal and I accompanied the boys a few days and then Joel and I enjoyed doing it on Saturday. Someone would dump water for them and then the boys would vigorously attack the water with their brooms.

We watched parades. Ezra was in tears anytime he thought that we were going to miss a part of the parade. The boys loved the bands, tractors and motorcycles!

And of course, Aunt Crystal and I did a great job indoctrinating them on Tulip Festival food!

It was fun to have family around to enjoy it with. I'm glad I went to the work of getting costumes for everyone. I'm grateful Mom let me borrow hers, and I think I will have one made for me for next year. . .perhaps with a matching one for Evelyn!

Things I Don't Want To Forget

Here are some things I want to remember:

1. It is Evelyn's regular practice to finish her dinner, get down from her highchair and make a beeline to Joel's chair. She proceeds to pester him until he picks her up and then sits, mostly contentedly, on his lap until the end of our meal. I'm pretty sure her daddy eats it up.

2. Ezra's newest phrase: "Mommy, I tell you this. . ."

3. They are redoing the roads downtown. The kids and I sat on a bench, after picking up Josiah from school, Evelyn drank a bottle, and we watched them "do construction" for more than a half hour. I had to drag the boys away!

A farm boy in the city

I witnessed the reality of a farm boy in the city this morning. . .We went to pick up Josiah from school. The other boys like to get out of the car and run up and down the sidewalk while we wait for Josiah to come out. So, Ezra and Simeon had run down to the bottom of the stairs and turned around to head back to the van. All the sudden, I hear Simeon say, "Just wait a sec Ezra. . ." Then, almost in slow motion, I see him pull his pants down and proceed to relieve himself in the rocks at the bottom ot the stairs. Keep in mind that there are a row of vans and cars parked with parents in them, waiting for their children to come out too. So, I ran out and helped Simeon pull up his pants, asking him what he was doing? He looked sort of shocked and said he had to go really badly. I told him we didn't do that, he needed to come tell me that he had to go. He continued to look confused, so after I had meekly smiled and shrugged my shoulders at a few parents, and we were in the van, I explained that we could only go potty outside when we were at the farm, but at home, we needed to tell Mommy and we'd find a place to go inside. I'm pretty sure from a later conversation between Simeon and Josiah that this has been a common practice from Simeon outside around our house, although I have not witnessed it! About 2 seconds after we got back to the van, the students came running down the stairs -thankfully it was not 2 seconds earlier!! Oh, the necessity of learning the difference between the farm and the city!